Flying: The good, the bad, and the ugly. The family edition.

We fly a lot.  And while we're getting pretty good at flying with young children (and our kids pretty much rock at it), there are those times when you reflect on the bad moments and appreciate the good.  This post is a result of some ups and downs on our last journey to Kathmandu from the states, one that took 57.5 hours, a 16 hour flight leg, 1 missed flight, 1 night in the airport, and 7 pieces of luggage that didn't arrive with us.  I give you my musings on the good, bad, and ugly of flying (with kids in particular):

The good is sleeping children.

It’s an empty seat next to you.

It’s a lounge with good food, a playroom, and showers.

It’s airport seating that doesn’t have an armrest between each seat preventing you from laying down.

It’s an outlet near a comfortable seat. 

It’s a USB charging plug on the plane.

It’s an in-flight children’s meal.

It’s the stewards and stewardesses that love babies and kids (and will entertain them for awhile, even hold them while you go to the bathroom!).

It’s an upgrade.

It’s flying without children when you regularly fly with children.

It’s getting comments at the end of a flight saying how well your children did (all that work – packing snacks and entertainment, constantly supplying those said snacks and entertainment, monitoring seat kicking and volume of speaking, and special privileges [ipad for hours at a time, sure!] and wonky sleep schedules you’ll later have to cope with – paid off).

It’s being met at the gate by family or friends.

The bad is being awake at 3am in the airport trying to sleep on tile floor next to your toddler in case he wakes up and tries to wander off.

It’s airplane food.

It's a baby that won't sleep.

It's flying pregnant.

It’s a pen exploded in your bag.

It’s trying to sleep on the tray table in a desperate attempt to get comfortable.

It’s overnight delays.

It’s lugging around too much carry-on luggage (packing a diaper bag for 30 hours of travel requires a LOT of stuff!).

It’s sitting under an overhead compartment when someone is trying to put a piece of luggage that is too big.

It’s a baby on your lap and no room to put your tray down to eat.

It’s a seat that won’t recline.

It's luggage overages.

It’s a budget airline flight.

It’s headphone jacks that require the silly 2 or 3 prong headphone plugs so you have to use the airline headphones.

The ugly is waking up realizing you either: drooled or were in your neighbor’s space… or worse – both. 

It’s being the neighbor.

It’s the Kathmandu airport bathrooms.

It’s when that crying baby is your own.

It’s dealing with a child who has to pee “really really bad”  right when the seatbelt sign goes off after the plane has landed (you know that moment, when everyone instantly jumps up and gets their bags down as if they might not make it off the plane if they don’t).

It’s coping with upset stomachs and the inevitable traveller’s diarrhea.  That line for the bathroom after a meal has been served is a nightmare.

It’s being the only woman on a flight.

It’s the vomit bag and needing to use it.

It’s sitting next to (behind, kitty corner, in the general vicinity of) a person who needs to use the vomit bag.


Here's to hoping your next flight has more of the good than the bad and none of the ugly.

Small things for small carry-ons

Sometimes little things can make travel better.  These 2 are my recent faves:

Smith's Rosebud Salve and J. Crew passport case - both christmas gifts

Oh, and flying without a baby after lots of long flights with one?  Amazing.  I read the whole time!

International flying with an infant

With two long international flights under our belts, and a few domestic ones also, I feel like we may have some advice to offer those who are about to undertake it.  None of this is new information, it's spattered all over the internet, but here you go just the same:


1. Bassinet seats - they didn't work for us since Tegan is not a great sleeper and was pretty big by the time we flew back to the states.  If your little one can sleep on their own in new places though, make sure to reserve a bulkhead bassinet seat!  Airlines vary in their bassinet reservation practices.

2. Get a seat for the baby if you can, the extra space is invaluable.

3. We packed 2 diaper bags, one we kept at our feet and the other in the overhead as back up.  During layovers I restocked and rotated out toys.

4. Bring some favorite toys and some new ones to entertain.  Also, the seatbelt or safety card can be fascinating new objects to explore (side note: some safety cards are better laminated than others, check yours before your sweet one eats the corner off the first page).

5. Pre-boarding is great for getting your stuff on the plane without everyone breathing down your neck to get past you, but not an easy time to sit on the hot plane with baby waiting for takeoff.  If there are 2 of you, have 1 pre-board with all of the stuff and the other hang out with your tot and board towards the end.

6. Nurse, bottle, or pacifier on take-off and landing to help their ears.  We also used a straw sippy cup when Tegan wasn't into nursing.  I recommend waiting until the plane is speeding down the runway to take off before starting any of these otherwise they are done before you are in the air.  Nursing is tricky in those tight spaces - watch their head sticking out into the aisle!  Bonus - sometimes these things combined with the rumble of take off will put them to sleep.  On the way down we started once we noticed our own ears popping.

7. Those things you don't want them to do on a regular basis at home (watch TV, play with your phone, eat sweet puff finger foods)?  I say go for it on the plane!

8. When the seatbelt sign is off walk and stretch as much as you can - you never know when you will be in turbulence and for how long.

9.  Your baby will cry, it's ok.  Most people we've talked to say they feel for the parents more than anything else.

10. Some immigration/passport checks have special lines for pregnant women, families with children and elderly - look for them (Taiwan and Bangkok both have them).

11.  Bring a blanket to lay out and play on during layovers.

12. Find the other babies/kids on the flight.  Let the kids check each other out; commiserate with fellow parents.

13. High fives all around when you land - you made it!